As I sit writing
this column, it is a mild November day. Although December is just around the
corner, the weathermen are still predicting a mild week ahead. And while
Christmas is still a few weeks away, "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas." By the
time you are reading this, we could all be very sick and tired of snow. But in
the meantime, I turned to my U.S. album to see how snow is portrayed on the
stamps of our country.

The first U.S.
stamp to depict snow is the 1898 Trans-Mississippi issue's Western
Cattle in
Storm. The reprint of this stamp in June 1998 gives collectors an opportunity to
own it at face value. Last year also saw another stamp depicting snow - this
time commemorating the Klondike gold rush.

One would think
that snow would be very evident on Christmas stamps and stamps picturing Winter
Olympics sporting events. This is not necessarily so! You only have to look at
Scott Nos. 1461 and 1696 from the 1972 and 1976 Winter Olympics sets to discover
that events such as bobsledding and. skiing were depicted without snow. The
events shown on the 1980 Winter Olympic stamps (Scott Nos. 1795-98) depict a
white surface, but it is not evident whether the surface is snow or ice. The
1992 Winter Olympics events are
depicted on a blue surface. And the list goes
on!

Most of our
Christmas stamps do not contain snow. Although you might not expect snow on our
religious issues, one would expect more evidence of snow on our secular issues.
Our first Christmas stamp (Scott 1205) illustrates a wreath. Some of our
other Christmas stamps depict toys or plants, but no snow. You can, however,
find snow on the 1963 Christmas stamp showing the Christmas tree at the White
House. Remember the 6C Winter Sunday in Maine, the IOC Currier and Ives, and the
1982 Christmas issue showing children enjoying games in the snow? Check your
Christmas stamps, you may be surprised to find out which ones do or do
not show
snow.

Where can you find
snow on U.S. stamps? Check some of the statehood stamps where snow can be found
on distant mountain peaks. The 1987 American Wildlife set depicts animals in
their natural environment and some of those include snow scenes. One mustn't
forget the stamps showing Arctic and Antarctic explorations.

All in all, I
found over 75 U.S. stamps that depict snow. Only a few are shown here.

You can have all
kinds of winter fun looking forsnow stamps and never have to lift a
shovel, just your stamp tongs. •

A new set of
stamps issued by the U.S. Postal Service is making its debut this month. The
Arctic Animals pane features five animals that have adapted to the extreme cold
of the polar region. The stamps will feature close-ups of the snowy owl, polar
bear, gray wolf, arctic hare, and arctic fox. These stamps will have their
first-day of issue at the "top of the world" in Barrows, AK, on March 12, 1999.

Any one of those
animals would make an interesting mini-topical collection and could be expanded
into a one-frame exhibit. Let's "go wild" with polar bears and explore their
interesting world through stamps.

The polar bear is
a mammal having white or pale yellow-white fur. It grows to a length of about
seven feet and a height of about three feet. Fully-grown bears can weigh over
1,000 pounds.

The polar bear is
well equipped to live in the polar regions of North America and

Eurasia. Its
partially webbed feet help it swim at a speed of about three miles per hour.
Hairs on the soles of its feet make it possible to walk across the ice without
slipping. Its heavy fur is waterproof and warm, while underneath its skin lays a
layer of insulating fat. Although many countries have issued stamps depicting
polar bears. I have chosen to feature only stamps from countries that are the
polar bear's natural habitat.

The first U.S.
stamp to show a polar bear was part of the se-tenant 1971 Wildlife Conservation
set. It also depicts a pair of bear cubs. Babies are commonly born as twins
during the winter and live in a hole or den created in a snow bank.

Canada has issued
several stamps depicting polar bears including one in 1953 for its National
Wildlife Week, and a 25-cents definitive issued in the 1970s.

Greenland has
issued a number of polar bear stamps including its first definitive set, and a
common design on a parcel post stamps. A standing polar bear is shown on
Greenland definitive set from the 1960s.

In 1925, Norway
issued set of stamps to help finance the proposed Amundsen flight to the North
Pole. The

stamps depict a
polar bear standing on an ice floe with an airplane overhead.

Searching for
commemorative cancellations? In 1977, MILCOPEX hosted the convention of the
American Society of Polar Philatelists. The postmark featured two penguins and t
polar bear.

You don't have to
visit the frosty north to enjoy seeing polar bears. Stamps, postmarks and
cacheted covers can bring the king of the arctic into your home at a cost far
less than just equipping yourself for a trip to the North Pole. •

To complement the
topical focus of this issue, the following individuals responded to a request to
briefly tell us about their collections.

from Clete Delvanx,
Green Bay -

Early in the 1980s
I began to realize that it would be quite expensive to continue adding to my
United States, United Nations, and Canadian stamp collections. That's when I
decided to go topical.

The choice of
topical was easy for me. As an English teacher in one of Wisconsin's technical
colleges, I no longer had a chance to teach literature courses (they weren't
offered). So I decided to maintain my interest in literature by collecting
stamps that commemorated literary authors and their works.

I soon learned
that a study unit of the American Topical Association was devoted to exploring
that topic: Journalists, Authors, and Poets On Stamps (JAPOS). Today I'm
president of that study group.

Collecting JAPOS
material allows one to attain a "complete" collection. For example, I have every
stamp issued to honor Charles Dickens (over 75 different stamps).

Today, in
retirement, I enjoy researching and writing articles about my authors collection
and seeing them published in various philatelic periodicals, including ATA's
Topical Times.

Sixty years
ago, when it cost 2-cents to mail a letter and we had morning and afternoon mail
delivery, I fell in love with stamps. Besides getting stamps in the mail, I
would spend my allowance at one of the dime stores, which sold 10-cents packets
of stamps from all over the world. Also, I soon answered an ad in The
American Boy magazine and received approvals from the Tatham Stamp Co. I
would tape my coins to the return and eagerly await more stamps.

At the same time
that I discovered stamps, I discovered maps! Today I cannot pass up a map stamp
without buying it, even though so many countries have changed their names. As
the years passed, I have added art and music topics to my collection. .

Topical collecting
is one way to continue collecting worldwide stamps, and after 60 years it is
still a fascinating hobby. •

from J. G., who
wishes to remain anonymous -

I collect topical
stamps because they relate to things around me in nature and events in the news.
My first topical specialty was astronomy on stamps.

I had studied
astronomy on my own time for many years. One day after visiting Lick
Observatory, in California, I came upon a stamp shop somewhere in downtown
Berkeley. I went into the shop, probably to reminisce about my childhood
collection of U.S. plate blocks, or whatever little boys collect. In that shop,
was a beautiful blue and red stamp with an astronomy theme. I don't remember
another thing about that stamp; it might have been one of the current USSR space
issues with all the glitz of cosmonauts and such. Because of that stamp, though,
I pursued a collection of astronomy on stamps and later to an additional space
collection.

Astronomy was what
I saw at night through my binoculars and small telescope. Space was what I was
reading about in the newspapers at the time. The space theme also fit well into
my nightly "moon watch" of satellites at a tiny observatory in Davis, CA.

The astronomy
theme has remained rather sedate and easy to keep up. The space theme continues
to grow and probably has become the No. 1 topic of the century. My interest in
both topics has continued to the present day. I share the fun of these
collections with others by exhibiting them at the American Topical Association
show, MILCOPEX, and other national shows. And, too, I can still relate my
collections with events in !he news and things around me in nature •

from Norman
Clayton, West Bend -

My profession was
in education as a schoolteacher and principal, camp counselor, and director of
children's programs in the early daysof TV. I have always been
interested in children. My first topical frame was titled "Children's Games."
Then I put together a frame on children's toys. Eventually I assembled a frame
depicting children's drawings.

It was difficult
to find dealers who could furnish me with the stamps I was looking for, as well
as the background material I needed. But it was rewarding to discover the
universality of children's interests and the joy they express through their play
and artwork. Researching and collecting these topicals has been a wonderful
hobby during my retirement years.

from Connie CaKer,
Muskego -

I collect a number
of topical subjects including Christmas, lighthouses, bears, owls, balloons, and
aircraft.

I experienced a
most exciting discovery while in England in 1998. At a local stamp shop, my
husband and one of his friendsfound for me a March 10, 1868, cover from
a London solicitor to Mr. Green, the keeper of the Bell Rock Light, in New
Brighton, Cheshire, England. The cover bears the Great Britain 1-penny, red-rose
Queen Victoria stamp (Scott 33). Also found was a postcard of the Bell Rock
Light dated September 18, 1910.

It's of interest
to note that in 1998, Great Britain issued a set of five lighthouse stamps and a
set of five lighthouse postal cards. Both sets include the Bell Rock Light. I've
been able to acquire all items related to this lighthouse.

The 1868 cover is
the oldest cover in my collection. Experiences like these make topical
collecting fun and informative. •

from Ray Sullivan,
Wauwatosa –

After my
retirement in 1984 l began volunteering at the Milwaukee Public Museum helping
my daughter who was curator of the butterfly and moth collections. I helped
mount specimens, integrate them into the collections, and went on butterfly
collecting field trips in Wisconsin, Costa Rica and Brazil.

Already having
collections of United States, Luxembourg and Vatican City stamps, I hesitated
starting a topical collection. After a couple of years I reconsidered and now
have a substantial collection of butterfly and moth stamps. I have never
exhibited my stamps because I have too many hobbies of other interests; however,
a part of my collection was used by the Milwaukee Public Museum in the
"Butterflies Alive" exhibit in 1997 and will be used again starting in July 1999
for the "Return of Butterflies Alive" exhibit where mounted butterfly specimens
are matched with stamps depicting those specimens. •